Unemployment drops for post-9/11 vets in August

The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 4.2 in August — the lowest it's been in four months, according to Labor Department statistics released Friday, Sept. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

Veterans who served in the military after 9/11 fared better in the job market last month than they did all summer, the latest federal data show.

The unemployment rate for post-9/11 veterans was 4.2 percent in August, compared to 4.6 in July and 5.1 in June. And while veterans of the Gulf War era also saw a drop in unemployment to 2.5 percent — the lowest since May — overall veteran unemployment increased to 3.7 percent from 3.5, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The data can be volatile, experts warn; the veteran unemployment numbers are drawn from a much smaller sample size than the overall population.

Overall, the U.S. added 165,000 jobs in August while the national unemployment rate remained relatively unchanged at 4.4 percent.